Department of Commerce January 29, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, NMFS, are extending the deadline for providing information to be used during the status review of shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The initial deadline was January 29, 2008. This extension is intended to ensure that the option to submit comments electronically is available for an entire 60-day period.

NMFS announces that the annual harvest guideline for the commercial lobster fishery in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) for calendar year 2008 is established at zero lobsters.

NMFS issues this final rule to implement joint Amendment 27 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Reef Fish FMP) and Amendment 14 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico (Shrimp FMP)(Amendment 27/14) prepared by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule reduces the commercial and recreational quotas for red snapper, reduces the commercial minimum size limit for red snapper, reduces the recreational bag limit for red snapper, prohibits the retention of red snapper under the bag limit for the captain and crew of a vessel operating as a charter vessel or headboat, establishes a red snapper recreational season that is open from June 1 through September 30 each year, requires the use of non- stainless steel circle hooks when using natural baits to fish for Gulf reef fish, requires the use of venting tools and dehooking devices when participating in the commercial or recreational reef fish fisheries, and consistent with the Amendment's framework procedure, provides for implementing seasonal closures of the Gulf shrimp fishery to reduce red snapper bycatch based upon the 74 percent bycatch reduction target established in this final rule. In addition, this final rule establishes a framework procedure to adjust the target effort level and any necessary closures for the Gulf shrimp fishery. The measures contained in this final rule are intended to establish a revised red snapper rebuilding plan and to end overfishing of the red snapper resource in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (AA), NOAA, announces temporary restrictions consistent with the requirements of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan's (ALWTRP) implementing regulations. These regulations apply to lobster trap/pot and anchored gillnet fishermen in an area totaling approximately 2,637 nm\2\ (9,045 km\2\), south of Rockland, Maine, for 15 days. The purpose of this action is to provide protection to an aggregation of northern right whales (right whales).